St. Frances' boys basketball team played tenacious man-to-man defense and the third-ranked Panthers (9-4) knocked off top-ranked Mount St. Joseph, 68-55, in the consolation championship of the Beach Ball Classic Thursday in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The Gaels (12-2) have two losses in the past four days. In Monday's opening round, Cedar Hill of Texas beat Mount St. Joseph, 56-53, and St. Frances lost to Scott County of Kentucky, 75-64.
The Panthers finished the tournament with a 3-1 record. The Gaels ended up 2-2.
Wayne Sparrow scored a game-high 20 points for St. Frances, Ronald Williams added 13 and Greg Lewis 12.
St. Frances assistant coach Damon Fisher credits the Panthers' defense with the win.
"We played tough man-to-man defense and kept their shooting percentage down," he said. "They only shot 33 percent and we shot 67 percent. We worked the ball inside and only shot three 3-pointers."
After one tie in the first four minutes, St. Frances led the rest of the way by as much as 22 points. Eric Atkins had 17 points for Mount St. Joseph, which will host the Panthers Tuesday at 7 p.m.
